Jehoshaphat was considered a good king, as far as I can tell anyway. I looked through the Kings books but couldn’t find anything that specifically said, “Jehoshaphat did what was good in the eyes of the Lord.” He seems to have hit all the right notes in being a good king, but he never got rid of that one blemish – teaming up with Ahab. As I was looking back at what was written about Jehoshaphat in 1 and 2 Kings, I ran past a verse which reminded me that King Jehoshaphat not only teamed up with Ahab to win a war, but he also gave his daughter to Ahab in marriage. So, they were much more than just battling buddies. They were family. Their grandkids were the same grandkids. Get what I’m saying? Jehoshaphat and Ahab – Judah and Jerusalem, aka good and bad guys – hooked up and made a whole line of yin-yang babies, or people that forever would be torn between Ahab’s beliefs and practices and Jehoshaphat’s beliefs and practices. And God was super angry about it. In fact, He was so angry that He made sure it was documented … twice. I love how Jehoshaphat doesn’t let God’s anger stop him from continuing his quest to teach people in his kingdom to turn to God. He just keeps on keepin’ on, trying to prove that he is worthy of forgiveness. I hope right now he and Jesus are chatting over coffee like friends.
Writing prompt: blemish
Do you have that one thing? That one ugly thing for which you think God will never forgive you? Write about it today and ask God to help you redeem yourself and give up the guilt. And remember … Jesus. Jesus is someone King Jehoshaphat didn’t have. You do. If you don’t have a one thing, write about a time you needed God’s grace and forgiveness because you did something kinda nasty to another human being. Don’t be shy, either. We all are nasty humans sometimes!
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